‘Rob Burrow Centre a fitting tribute to a great man – while Boris hospital is a hole’

IF you seek a good news Christmas story, look no further than a building site on York Road, Leeds. Construction of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease is well under way in Seacroft Hospital. It should open next summer.

More than 17,000 members of the public have given £6.8 million to provide the UK’s first comprehensive treatment unit, dedicated to the former Leeds Rhinos rugby player.

Rob never lived to see the medical memorial to his struggle, dying from motor neurone disease in June this year. But his inspiration lives on – thanks to two people.

First, Dr Agam Jung, consultant neurologist and the city’s clinical lead for this , who diagnosed Rob’s illness and dreamed the dream of a dedicated centre to treat sufferers.

Second, Kevin Sinfield, a fellow Rhinos player and Rob’s best friend, who took up the challenge to raise the money as brave Burrow’s health failed. He ran marathon after marathon, in all weathers, in all parts of the country, even pushing Rob in a wheelchair and carrying him over the finishing line – an unforgettable image.

This week, he got the charity’s target over the finishing line, just in time for a festive celebration on the construction site.

Rob had a vision, that people diagnosed with MND hear the news in a calming and tranquil centre, a beautiful welcoming building, that offers hope and optimism.

I wish I could say the same for the new Leeds Children’s Hospital, which is just a hole in the ground.

This much-needed facility was promised for opening in 2030 as part of Boris Johnson’s infamous 40-hospital programme-that-never-was. Costs have soared by £300m, and the scheme is now stuck in Labour’s New Hospitals Review.

This is a project that goes beyond charity, however magnificent. It requires an act of political will, for the children of this great city – not the reputation of politicians.

The weeks of Black Friday are over, thankfully, for another year. And it was all a scam, say analysts, who found that 90% of “bargains” were available at the same price or lower at other times of the year. They should really call it Black Frauday.

And what about the Boxing Day and New Year sales that used to be a star event in the calendar? Shoppers will be too retail-fatigued.

Historic events trigger conflicting reactions. Syrians celebrated the downfall of their brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad with joy on the streets. Our government welcomed the end of a barbaric regime, pleading impotently for peace and stability.

The Israeli government celebrated by staging hundreds of bombing raids on sites in Syria, and invading the borderlands “temporarily”.

In a break from his court appearance for alleged corruption, Premier Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated by claiming that the victory was his, achieved by wars on Israel’s neighbours. There will be scant celebration of Christmas in Gaza, under his grinding military onslaught. Children will be lucky to survive the festival alive.